TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Felix Zophar - Wisdom]

I like the spacey atmosphere at the beginning. The synths are a little generic, as are the drum samples, particularly the clap. I like the sense of climax into 1:15 and the subsequent rhythmic breaks, although I think that section drags on for a bit too long. The piece is pretty repetitive, and also doesn’t have a ton of structural variety. I’d suggest experimenting a lot more with dynamics and phrasing in the future. The piece ends a little abruptly, and might’ve functioned better as a loop. It is rather catchy, though, and I like the mood and atmosphere. I didn’t notice any particular problems with the mixing, either. I think you could’ve done a lot more with the composition here, though, and that’s the major downfall of this piece. Otherwise, keep at it, man. :)

6.5/10

FelixZophar responds:

I tried to make a good drop

[Kirby 64: Miracle Matters]

I like the energy at the beginning. The synths are a little generic, though, and I don’t think the kick was as strong as it could’ve been. There’s not a strong sense of progression for the first half of the piece - just changes in energy levels. The melody at 1:15 is a little square, and the instrument you used sounds really thin and ominous, which I don’t think you were going for. I think you have a good sense of rhythm and structure, although the composition here is pretty underwhelming. The piece is lacking on phrasing, dynamics, and development. The fade-out ending also came across as pretty lazy. I’d like to see you put a lot more effort into how you arrange and vary the piece. It’s not all bad, though - this piece is really catchy, and has some cool ideas between the hits that first come in at :16 and the transitions. Keep at it, man. ;)

5.5/10

[BrainDead]

I like the melodic content at :04. The synth at the beginning is a bit generic, but fits the mood of the piece well. I wasn’t a huge fan of your drum samples either - the clap is pretty cliche, and the kick had a bit too much treble IMO. At 1:06, the bass is a little indistinct. I think it could be crisper if you tone down the reverb and be a little stricter with the equalization. I appreciated your use of panning with the synths, although I think drums should really be kept front and center except during transitional moments. The drops at around 2:00 - 2:45 were cool. The melody is getting pretty repetitive by around the 3-minute mark, though - I think it needs some more variation, and I also think this piece didn’t need to be 5.5 minutes long. I also thought the transition at 5:02 could’ve been smoother. Still, this is a pretty well-structured piece. My main issues are with the sound design and the repetition. Keep at it, man. ;)

7/10

Spadezer responds:

Alright, a TaintedLogic review. Much appreciated, and thanks for the feedback

[AIM - Not You Again...]

I like the mood at the beginning - it’s cute with a creepy flair. This is an enormously catchy piece with some great melodic content. The instrumentation is also pretty enjoyable. The piece has a great sense of flow, and for a piece that seems so variational, there’s also a fair amount of cohesion. I like the breakdown at 2:12 a lot, too. The piece doesn’t quite get back to the same emotional height as appeared during the first minute, and I also thought the fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy. Still, you clearly put a lot of effort into the sound design here - the vocal samples are great. Very promising work! Keep it up, my friend. ;)

9.5/10

[Bazar]

I like the percussion at :12 and the spacey synths. There’s a lot of simplicity in the texture here with the synths, and I think you need to take some much bigger risks compositionally. The piece is very short and simple, and doesn’t properly display your mixing and mastering skills. It’s not bad, but it is underwhelming. You could do so much more with phrasing, dynamics, variety, and structure. Some pads or bass riffs could add a lot to the texture, and developing your melodies - at least later in the piece - would help give this piece a lot more shape. I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece, though - it has a lot of potential. Keep at it, man!

6.25/10

Madze responds:

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate your effort you took in all the reviews for this contest. I'm taking all the things in consideration, although I usually don't work on a piece once I published them. But I will definitely use your advice for my next stuff.

[EMBASSY (WOW)]

I like the percussion at the beginning, although the rhythm is a little hard to follow until the beat comes in at :29. The piece progresses pretty slowly, although I do like the sound design, perhaps with the exception of the brass at 1:12, which sounded pretty fake. It’s a catchy piece with some neat ideas, although I would’ve liked to hear some melodic content come in before 2:10. The ending is a little abrupt, too. Given that this piece is a pretty short, I would’ve liked to see you flesh out the structure a bit more and offer another refrain of those melodies. The piece is also a bit minimalistic at times. It has some cool transitional content, though, and I didn’t hear any problems with the mixing. I think you could’ve done a lot more with the composition here, but that’s my main concern. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.5/10

[Dubwolfer - Knowledge]

The synth at the beginning is a little generic, but I like the energy and rhythm. There was a bit of a sudden change in the instrumentation at :30, although I liked the vocal samples up to that point. The instruments blend well together, although I think the kick and snare are a little strained in the mix during the chorus - they don’t sound nearly as loud or clear at :40 as earlier. Some more equalization and compression could really help clean that up. I think after a time the vocal samples get old, and I don’t like how you cut off all of the other instruments when the vocals come in - it really disrupts the flow of the piece overall. Despite the simplicity of the melodies, I enjoyed the melodic content here. You have a good sense of harmony and a nice full texture throughout the piece. The piece is also fairly catchy, although a lot of the instruments in here are pretty cliche. My main problem is still the mixing, though - I think you need to be a lot stricter with the equalizing in order to avoid having the synths distort the drums (and vice versa). Compositionally, this piece is quite enjoyable, though. Keep at it, man!

6.5/10

[IYD - The Void]

I like the gritty synth bass and atmospheric synths at the beginning. The panning with the guitars was cool, and by around :30 the texture comes together nicely. The melodic content at 1:39 was quite enjoyable, and the following guitar solo was great as well. The mixing is really tight here. The coda seemed a little rushed, especially for a piece with a pretty slow pace (one emotional height in 2.5 minutes). Still, it’s hard to find things to complain about here. The structure could’ve used a bit more fleshing out, I guess - usually I’m skeptical of the one-climax model - but the rushed ending is the only thing that actively bothers me. Keep up the good work, IYD! ;)

9.25/10

InYourDreams responds:

Thanks! :D... oh man, you've made such an awesome job reviewing each song. You have my respect foreverandevereverever :D.

[Gotta Reach For It]

I like the atmosphere and filtering work at the beginning. By :45, this piece feels really catchy and cool, and I love the instrumentation. The kick gets a little lost in the mix, though. I’d suggest some more careful compression and equalizing at the very least, and it’s okay to leave some more mid-range tones in the kick too. The piece has a constant sense of continuity, but I would’ve liked to hear some sort of breakdown where you vary the energy level and dynamics a bit more. The melodic content at 2:37 is really enjoyable, though. Really unique and groovy sound here. I think the part at 3:50 was entirely unnecessary, though - sounds way too in-your-face compared to the rest of the piece. Still, solid work. Keep it up, man. ;)

8/10

[Hyper Tune Funky, GO!]

Clever idea with the portamento into :03. I think a lot of the synths sound a bit harsh - I’d suggest adjusting the equalization to take off some of the high frequencies on the melody synth at the very least. The balance in the drums is also a little wonky. The kick is fighting to break through the mix a bit around the 1-minute mark. I think you needed a smoother transition at 1:19. The structuring is pretty good, and I like the modifications to the drums during the last 30 seconds or so. At the same time, you could’ve done a lot more with phrasing and dynamics - a bridge or breakdown would really help give this piece some shape, and you can afford it since it’s so short as is.

7/10